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Traveling the world is one of life’s great experiences; it offers you a rare opportunity to get ripped off by locals and to contract any number of unpleasant and deadly diseases. Oh…you can also experience a variety of different cultures, meet great people along the way, and see some the most mind-blowing sites the world has to offer. However, as well as all the good times you’ll experience, traveling is also notoriously draining on the bank balance. Life on the road can wipe out your life savings in what seems like no time at all. However, there are a few ways to reduce your costs so that you can travel for longer on less money, making your return that little bit easier.

Cut down on travel expenses

If you want to travel cheap, then you need to try to find alternatives to traveling by plane. The rule of thumb is that the slower the mode of transport, the cheaper it is. If you’ve got lots of time and little money, then your best option is to think about getting buses. In places like Southeast Asia and South America, in particular, coach travel is big business and there are some great services at competitive rates.

Make sure you talk to fellow travelers along the way as they can shed light onto other options. You may even be able to hitch a ride with a group. For the real daring, why not try hitchhiking itself. In the UK, thousands of students hitchhike to Morocco every year for charity. However, unless you’ve got Liam Neeson (from Taken) as your dad, it’s obviously pretty important to choose your locations wisely.

It’s also worth checking out train options; it’s quick and comfortable enough to get you from A to B in good time and in one piece. Most importantly though, it’s not too pricey.

Accommodation

Most travelers will be steering clear of 5 star hotels anyway while staying in big cities like Las Vegas. Usually it is possible to find cheap Las Vegas Hotels off of the strip or a few miles away. Or you could try some even cheaper alternatives to the standard hostels and apartments. Couch surfing is one option that can make staying in Europe in particular a lot cheaper. Lodging with a local family can also work in some parts of the world, especially Africa and can not only be a great experience but is also a great way to cut costs.

For third world countries, accommodation is often reasonably priced, but remember to barter. Remember that haggling and negotiating should be a staple part of everyday life whilst traveling.

Also remember to get out the city. Cities are geared towards draining tourist’s funds. Remote places can be dirt cheap and can also offer a much more of a rewarding and adventurous experience.

Sell yourself

There are several ways to make money out of selling yourself while you’re traveling, and by that I don’t mean prostitution! The power of the Internet means that you could work on a freelance basis in many lines of work from any corner of the earth. From blogging, to marketing and many other niches, you don’t need to be stuck in one place to earn a bit of spare cash.

Starting your own travel blog is also a good idea. Popular blogs can rake in a good bit of money from advertising, but be aware that it does take time and dedication to build these and get to that point.

Make use of your skills – While you’re traveling the world, you may finally even find a way to make use of your photography degree by selling the pictures you take while you’re away. If you’ve got a good eye for a photo, or even just a good camera, a nice shot can be worth quite a bit to the right website. If you’re musically gifted why not try performing for some money. You could alternatively work for a hotel or hostel, which could help to cover living costs.

Live the life of an international playboy

When you’re traveling you’ll probably meet quite a lot of people; some of these people could even be female. If you’ve got a way with the opposite sex, then you may be able to swindle a few free nights at a local girl’s place. It will be a lot cheaper than staying in a hostel and a lot comfier. Just think how much nicer it will be sleeping on her floor rather than in a cramped hostel. If you dare to dream, you might even be able to get set up on the sofa.

However, if you don’t possess a James Bond like gift for striking up countless holiday romances, then you could always make friends with a man and stay at his.

In all seriousness though, traveling is an once in a life experience. It’s hard not to get carried away at some points, but if you keep track of your finances by noting down daily or weekly expenditures, as well implementing some these tips, the experience could be all the more less stressful and rewarding. It will also mean that you can get to enjoy the final weeks without guilt and worry of debt and that you don’t have to pass up on any great experiences.

Most of my traveling has been for work or with my family. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is to use common sense. Stick with a group and always make sure someone knows where you’re going. Don’t go anywhere or do anything that might land you on International news!

lol at that last line. Yep, you don’t want to mess with foreign police especially after watching that Locked Up Abroad tv show. You do have to be quite careful when traveling since you usually don’t have local knowledge about things like safety, customs, etc.

I’d like to finish off my PADI Scuba Instructor qualification and use that as a means to earn along the way. This would never be work in my eyes! I agree that travel blogs take a long time to become established, but that said, if you are good with words (and funny) things will come naturally.

That sounds like an awesome plan…traveling the world while getting paid to do scuba diving tours along the way. I’d think you would need to stay in each place long enough to be able to give a quality tour though. A specialty niche travel blog all about scuba would probably be easy enough to establish.

Really, you need to pay to stay at your own hotel? I would’ve thought it would be free. Staying at friends’ houses isn’t always very appealing due to things such as lack of privacy and feeling like a burden.

We don’t take big trips all that often other than to visit family. When we do, I want someone making my bed and cleaning up after me so I’m really on vacation. If we ever do get to a point where we might be able to take a couple of months to travel, we’ll have to lower our standards a bit, but I don’t think I could ever hitchhike or sleep in a stranger’s house.

I think some of that stuff like hitch-hiking is more suited to a younger crowd. I do like the convenience of someone cleaning up after me. Who wants to be doing cleaning while on vacation? Renting a house in a nice area would still be pretty cool though.

No it’s smart for a woman to not use the sex for accommodation route. I think you’d be a bit more vulnerable. For a guy it might be an option to save some money though. Same thing for cheap transport, it’s probably a lot less safe for a woman.

For short stays, we like staying at B&Bs… you get breakfast, get to meet some locals and enjoy a more personal experience. For longer stays, we often will rent an apartment for the duration of our stay. We did this in NY, Germany… it saves A LOT of money and you can usually stay in very trendy areas for a fraction of the cost.

I can’t say I’ve ever stayed in a B&B, but I do like the idea of having a good home cooked breakfast as well as some experienced advice about the area. I totally should’ve rented an apartment when I was in Australia a while back. Instead we spent a ton on hotels.

We aspire to be able to take long trips where we live more like locals – which in the right situation can cut the costs dramatically. But, for now our jobs don’t allow it… But that’s why we’re trying to be on top of our financial ball so we can ditch the jobs long before we’re 67 (if the standard retirement age isn’t 80 by the time we’re in our 60’s) and have the freedom to roam.

I’ve always wanted to spend time traveling like that too. Living like a local would give you a much more authentic experience and you’d probably discover so much more. My finances don’t currently allow for it either though. First I need to get my website business rolling along well. Then I can think about that plan again.

I like traveling places where it may be a little expensive to get to, but once you’re there you can live like a king. I spent $1,400 on a flight to Thailand, but only spent $100/day while we were there and we lived like kings! Massages, drinks, food, etc haha Those were the days

Ok, that last tip made me laugh. Not once have I ever considered using the playboy lifestyle as a way to get free accommodation. And just think, if you play your cards right you can probably get breakfast for free too!

This article totally reminded me of my early twenties and all the traveling I did. Those were the good ol’ days! One thing I learned was that it’s cheaper when you get away from the “tourist” areas. People are also friendlier and more accommodating.

We haven’t traveled much, especially internationally but I’m not sure I’d be down for couch surfing when we do! 🙂 Bartering is a great thing to keep in mind especially in 3rd-world countries but is that very common over in Europe?

I don’t think your wife would be down for couch surfing either. For a single guy though it would be an awesome option. I have no idea if bartering is big in Europe, but I suspect it might be in certain countries. I guess it depends on what you’re bartering.

Christopher @ This that and the MBA
September 4, 2012 at 8:28 am - Reply

Perfect article, I just got back from south carolina after spending week down there and a boat load of money. I find that travelling i tend to let my budget slip. We did move our trip back a week and saved 100 dollars on the room. I think selling yourself would be difficult to do. It would take more time and effort than one might want to invest in a trip. Well for me personally.

The selling yourself tip would work better with longer trips where you’re staying in an area for at least a couple weeks. It wouldn’t be too practical for the typical vacation. I let my budget slip a lot on vacation too. It just seems like the perfect excuse to overlook prices and spoil yourself a bit.

That’s the problem when something becomes less popular than it once was. They end up having to jack up the prices to keep it running. That happened with the ferries up here in BC, but that was also due to some major mismanagement.

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